The Holly and Oak King: A Yule Tale. Part One.

The Holly King sat upon his great thrown with a crown of leaves in his hair and felt quite content. He was King so he was very happy. All day long he would hold feasts where great stories were told and tremendous amounts of food were eaten. He would surround himself with happy people and they would laugh and laugh far into the night, and no one laughed harder or told more merry stories then the great Holly King.

But the Holly King was getting worried. As the days continued on and on the world began to grow colder and darker. The leaves on the trees began to change their colors from vibrant green to orange, gold, and red. And soon all the leaves left the trees entirely. The Holly King knew as the days grew shorter and shorter that he would grow older and older until finally on the shortest day of the year his rule would end. He would come.

The King tried to put this thought out of his head, but before too long it became so cold that the ground grew hard and snow began to fall. The King knew he was almost out of time so on the shortest day of the year he held one final great feast.

It was a magnificent feast and the King managed to temporarily forget his troubles. However, just as he was ready to bite into a large turkey leg, the door to the Great Hall opened and bits of snow began to swirl in. He the Oak King strode in bodly and spoke the words that he had said every year, on this night, for as long as the old Holly King could remember.

“The days are cold, but soon they will grow warmer” The Oak King said in a deep voice, “Leave Holly King for your time is at an end”

The Holly King briefly wondered, as he always did, what would happen if just this once he left quietly. But it was not to be. Tradition demanded the next words he would say. “I will not. If you want to reign you will have to fight me. Who ever wins will have the throne.” Shaking with age, only a little, the Holly King stood up and grabbed his sword before going to meet the younger Oak King.

The battle was brief. The Holly King was old and feeble and the Oak King was young and strong. It didn’t take more than a few exchanges before the Holly King was on his knees before the Oak King, pledging to leave and not return before his time.

The Holly King left the Great Hall, leaving behind him the warm sounds of music and laughter; he went out into the cold snow. Following the traditions of time he traveled as far as he could before he finally collapsed, exhausted, beneath a great Oak tree and slept.

The Holly King slept and slept, dreaming dreams of music and laughter, until the warm air began to awaken him.

It was slow at first. Just a slight disturbance in his dreams, the Holly King responded by rolling over and snoring on. Finally though, as the sun beat down on him, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the tree above him.

The tree was very large so it towered above him. Leaves had begun to grow, and already the King could barely see the sky through the thick foliage. A couple of birds were even beginning to build a nest in the high branches. A bit bewildered the King sat up and looked around him. The grass was long and waved in the wind, colored pink, purple, and blue here and there as flowers sprung up between the blades. The Holly King smiled. It was finally Spring.

The Holly King took it slowly. Over the course of the next few days he began to get up and start moving around. He found his old sword and marveled at the way his new, younger body handled it. Carefully he bagan to practice.

As the days grew longer and longer the Holly King began his journey to see the Oak King and reclaim his kingdom. The Oak King would be getting old by now, and would know that his time was almost up. The trip took months but finally, on the longest day of the year, the King was standing on the top of a hill and looking down at his land.

As the sun began to set the Holly King made his way to the Great Hall, where he knew that the Oak King would be waiting. The sound of cups clinking and minstrels playing and the smell of good food wafted through the corridors until he finally stood in front of the huge door.

Breathing deeply the King pushed open the door and strode, boldly, into the hall. As he walked in the music stopped and all the happy people looked at him, including the Oak King, although he didn’t look quite so happy. The Holly King stared at his old nemesis for a second before saying the traditional words, “The days are warm, but soon they will grow colder. Leave Oak King, for your time is at an end.”

The Oak King hesitated a second then replied as he always did, “I will not leave. If you want to reign you will have to fight me.” The older King grabbed his sword and came to the middle of the room and stood ready.

The fight was short, as it always was, soon the old Oak King was kneeling in front of the Holly King, “Leave now,” the Holly King told him, “And do not return until your time.”

The Oak King nodded once, then grabbed his sword and left the hall. The Holly King with a smile on his face went to the head of the table and sat to the applause of everyone around. As the happy people around him began to eat the Holly King settled in his chair and began to dread the passage of time. For he knew that the days would begin to grow cold and dark again, and finally, on the darkest day of the year, the Oak King would return.